1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bower 5.4 from North America

Summary:

The engineers that designed this should be ashamed to produe such a poor vehicle

Faults:

Within 6000 miles of ownership the Number four cylinder blew the spark plug out of the head. The mechanic informed me that this was a common problem with this engine. The fix was to remove the head and have the spark plug hole rethreaded. I had bought an aftermarket warranty that claimed it was bumper to bumper from a company called Millennium it cost about $1200. They denied my claim. They said we have “covered parts and non covered parts” if a “non covered” part fails and it comes in contact with a covered part both the parts are not covered. When I read the fine print a head is covered however a sparkplug is not covered. Then after checking the fine print of the agreement it seam that they have part combinations on nearly all the major components of the drive line that have a similar relation. They claim the spark plug failed the damaged the aluminum head. I paid to have the engine replaced! The dealer I took it to Napa Ford in California quoted me around $9600 to change the engine. They did; however repair a damaged seat heater (under warranty) and change the CD changer (also under warranty). The removed the head from the block to diagnose the problem and charged me around $1600 to remove the head for a diagnosis. When I drove the vehicle in they vehicle had no spark plug in the number 4. It was making a loud noise. When the service manager and several mechanics pushed the head less Expedition out of their shop, the service manager commented that the car is a lot quieter now!

I found a shade tree who replaced the engine for $1000. I bought a new engine from a Ford dealership San Bruno Ford. I delivered the engine to the shade tree that lived in a small city 120 miles north of the San Francisco. He took two weeks and I tipped him $150.

At 69000 miles I developed a leak from the transmission. We were on a vacation pulling our 27’ travel trailer. The transmission started leaking in Seattle, WA. I bough a case of transmission fluid and fed the beast a quart about every half tank full of fuel.

I got the beast back to San Francisco and took it to San Bruno Ford and they found the front pump in the transmission had failed. After many argument s with the warranty company they did pay the claim ($4600). They had to remove the transmission to replace the pump.

Now it has 103k miles and I just got a code (I bought a $100 dollar code scanner) indicating I have a misfire in cylinder #4 (again).

We should have bought a Chevrolet Suburban.

General Comments:

We like the look of the car

We like its features.

We have driven around 45k miles pulling a large trailer.

I have used the 4wd many times on snow, sand, and muddy mountain trails.

I am not happy with its mechanical performance.

Altough I have replace nearly everything, I have a second truck the same year as this on with more miles that I bought new and have only replaced spark plugs and brakes once on it.

9th Feb 2007, 11:33

If you hadn't been so badly ripped off by mechanics, your experience might have been more palatable. Probably the spark plug blew out (which I've never heard of before) because somebody previously cross-threaded it and ruined the threads. However, you do not need to replace the entire engine over this. What any reputable garage or machine shop would do is drill out the mangled threads and install a Heli-Coil, into which the spark plug will fit. You're talking a couple hundred dollars. My opinion is that the warranty was a waste of money. After all, for the $1,200 you spent, you could have fixed the problem and still been ahead.

The leaking transmission seal was a tough one to happen on the road, and undoubtedly led to the eventual failure of the transmission. The transmission was good, but the seal went bad for some reason. It's odd to leak that badly on a low mileage vehicle. I wonder if you got sand or grass wrapped around the yoke, which tore up the seal while you were 4-wheeling.

9th Feb 2007, 14:54

Ouch buddy! you got ripped off! there is no way-shape-or-form that a problem with the spark plug like that should EVER need the engine to be replaced. the comment about the transmission is very likely. seals go bad because of age, or if something is imposed on it to alter its position or destroy it.

23rd Nov 2014, 03:17

Actually seals can go bad because of improper machining clearances from the factory or during rebuild. They can go bad due to bad bearings, bushings or thrust washers. They can go bad from improper fluids, which are not compatible with their rubber or material composition. They can dry, they can swell, and they can fail from heat. I could write an entire article on possible causes or situations leading to seal failure, especially seals on rotating parts, particularly transmission seals.

24th Nov 2014, 18:20

Since this burns so much fuel, it likely sits a lot and the seals dried up. I had vehicles that were fuel hogs and by no means daily drivers. At least run it for 15 minutes every 2 or 3 weeks. And drive the little new econo buggy most of the time.